Assignments > HW1: The Internet and the News

Due on Wed, 01/31 @ 11:59PM. 20 Points.

For your first homework assignment, you will be analyzing a question, issue, or controversy that has been covered in the news media within the past 5 years relating to the Internet. Ensure that the sources you are drawing from are fact-checked and meet basic standards for a research / journalistic piece.

Pick a Topic

You may pick your own topic, or you can choose a piece (film, news article, opinion piece) from the list below:

1. Pick one one or two of the quotes from Pew Research Center As AI Spreads, Experts Predict the Best and Worst Changes in Digital Life by 2035 and see if you can find examples in the news that confirm or contradict the arguments being made.
2. Watch and analyze The Great Hack.
3. Watch and analyze Coded Bias.
4. Listen to and analyze The history and future of the cookie. Planet Money, NPR (26 minutes).
5. Read and analyze at least 2 of the articles written by the WSJ re: the leaked Facebook documents, for example:
   • Facebook Knows Instagram Is Toxic for Teen Girls, Company Documents Show
   • Facebook Services Are Used to Spread Religious Hatred in India, Internal Documents Show
   • Is Facebook Bad for You? It Is for About 360 Million Users, Company Surveys Suggest
6. Read: The Internet Is Broken. How Do We Fix It?
7. Pick your own topic! Anything relating to the Internet is fair game.

Please answer the questions below

1. What did you read / watch?

What articles, documents, films, blogs, etc. did you read?

2. Describe the controversy / issue raised in the articles / film (~1/2 page single spaced)

Describe the technology, the issue / controversy, and the context surrounding the issue / controversy. Make sure you answer the following questions:

• What is the technology being examined?
• What is the issue?
• Why is it an issue?
• Who are the stakeholders?
• What are the different perspectives or “sides” (if there are sides)?

3. Analyze the controversy (~1/2 page single spaced)

What do you think about this controversy? Some questions you might consider:

• In the technology’s current configuration, who benefits most and who is most harmed?
• Can the controversy be resolved?
• Could it have been prevented or was it inevitable?
• Is it a sign of something bigger on the horizon?

Tell us what you think!

4. Three Slide Summary

Create a very short, 3-slide summary of your analysis using Google Slides, PowerPoint, etc., and be prepared to share your analysis to your classmates on Monday (2/05). Make sure you explain the issue / controversy so that someone else can understand it, and also describe your analysis and perspectives. Feel free to communicate these ideas any way that you want (text, images, etc.).

Rubric

Description of the Controversy (6 points)

• Clearly describes the issue, stakeholders, and opposing views.
• No key facts missing.

Analysis of the Controversy (8 points)

• Student puts themself and their own thinking into dialog with the issues.
• Student thinks about the issue from multiple perspectives.

Writing Clarity (2 points)

• Free of spelling / grammatical mistakes.
• Ideas are organized and the points made are clear.

Presentation (4 points)

• Guidelines followed; student presents their slides during class time.

What to Submit

Upload both your paper and slides to the Moodle by the deadline specified.